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Tuna, Lemon, and Caper Sauce Reviews

Canned tuna sparked with lemon and capers creates a superb sauce that complements many pasta shapes — penne, shells, or linguine, to name only a few. I prefer solid-pack tuna in olive oil for the best flavor and texture. I sometimes add a small handful of unpitted black olives — Kalamata or Gaeta — and a large, ripe tomato, seeded and diced, for a delicious variation. Italians would never serve cheese with fish, but you have my permission to break the rules!

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3.5/4

I love this recipe exactly as is and have made it several times. I have to say the BEST time I made this recipe I used high quality tuna in oil and meyer lemons. I think the meyer lemons really made a difference.

darcois
from Chicago, IL
/ 11.24.2015

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I went along with heating the tuna with onions, added olives and cherry tomatoes and oregano, heat all and add the lemon juice and zest at the very end. Wonderful!

McElwee
from Philadelphia
/ 03.23.2015

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Loved this recipe. Very flavorful even though the ingredients are minimal. I used good quality tuna and the lemon sauce made it so that it was not fishy tasting in the least. Didn't really need the parmesan cheese but I added and it tasted great. Will try adding sliced black olives next time. Definitely a keeper for my house.

michmckn
from Portland, OR
/ 03.02.2015

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I love tuna but was skeptical about this recipe. The ingredients sounded so light that I thought the recipe would turn out too bland for my tastes. Was I wrong!
This dish has it all--totally delicious, easy peasy to make, affordable, and healthy. I'll be adding this to our regular rotation.
I pan fried the tuna in its olive oil, along with some chopped onions and garlic, as other reviewers suggested, but I honestly don't know that that made any noticeable difference. Maybe I didn't fry it long enough.
I used regular capers since that's what we had (Trader Joe's brand in a vinegar brine). I omitted the parsley and cheese since we didn't have any. And I only used 4oz of tuna (our last can).
I served over microwave-steamed zucchini noodles (also works over pasta) and garnished with a sliced hard boiled egg. I was afraid that adding plain noodles would make the dish even more bland, but no, the tuna mix paired perfectly with the noodles.
The 4oz can of tuna, 2 hard-boiled eggs over 3 small zucchinis provided a perfectly sensible but filling portion for 2 people.
Can't wait to make this again and impress the rest of my family with it!

FooFoodMonster
from Bay Area, CA
/ 11.09.2014

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try toasting the tuna in its oil in a frying pan with onion and then follow the recipe! even more amazing

Tuna--who knew? To add a bit of moisture, I cooked down about 1c of canned tomatoes. They blended right in. Great "what's in the pantry" meal.

kootenaygirl
/ 03.01.2014

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This gets four stars because 1. it's delicious, 2. requires no actual cooking, 3. can be assembled in the time it takes to boil water, and 4. uses ingredients you probably have already. I think it's best with mezzi rigatoni. The big hollows are like a scooper for the sauce.

cheesepuff
from Brooklyn, NY
/ 09.25.2013

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Finally got around to making this...WOW, so easy and so good, Added the pitted kalamata olives and the diced seeded tomatoes and used yellow fin tuna in oil. The lemon gave it such a bright flavor. Just loved it. This is the kind of recipe that will be easy to play with, adding different ingredients

greygrey
from Southfield MI
/ 08.14.2013

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easy, fast and fresh. i only had fresh basil and that worked perfectly. love this sauce.

hollandhester
from CT
/ 08.03.2013

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Amazingly easy and
delicious recipe
that would be
perfect for making
in a pinch.
The only changes I
made were browning
the garlic in olive
oil (three cloves,
not one), not
draining the tuna,
and adding a pinch
of red pepper
flakes. The flavors
were bold and fresh,
and the dish looked
beautiful with
bow-tie pasta. Love
this recipe--I will
be making it again
and again!